Month: March 2011

Samuel Adams has released the Longshot Pack, which are the commercial versions of the beers the winners of their annual homebrewing competition. The competition is an homage to Sam Adams’ homebrewing roots. This year’s mix pack salutes Category 23 beers, or beers that don’t fit into a standard beer style. In the pack are two bottles each of:

Over the weekend, I was driving through south central Iowa, and decided to stop and visit Peace Tree Brewing in Knoxville, Iowa. Peace Tree burst into the Iowa beer scene last year and have made a splash. They have made several beers that fall outside the standard guidelines, and I applaud them for taking that initiative.

While at the brewery, I had a chance to sample the Black River Gumbo Stout from a tap using nitrogen. It was super smooth and had a great flavor. I also had a chance to try the beer that may make it onto shelves soon: the Blonde Fatale Golden Belgian Ale.

After we had a chance to sample some of the beer, my friends and I were taken back to the brewery. It was smaller than I thought considering how many locations the beers are, but I was glad to visit the brewery, and it made me appreciate more of what these brewers in Knoxville are doing.

A few days ago I had the chance to sample one of the new sour beers from New Belgium, Le Terroir. It is a dry-hopped (with peach/mango flavored Amarillo hops) sour ale that changes from batch to batch (sounds like homebrewing).

The beer had a nice citrus aroma, similar to a grapefruit or a lime. The taste had a hint of sour on the front of the tongue that became more pronounced toward the back of the tongue. It left a nice refreshing finish with a bit of lingering sweetness. The beer reminded me of grapefruit juice, and I thought there was a nice amount of sourness without being too overwhelming. I enjoyed this beer very much.

Since last year’s trip to Ireland, I’ve been excited to try some of my new Irish-ness this year on St. Patrick’s Day. This year I plan to enjoy some time with friends, good food, and some Guinness. Isn’t that what St. Patty’s Day is all about? Also, don’t forget the good, better, and best beers to try tomorrow, and be safe!

Oh, and this is actually another milestone – Thoughts on Beer’s 150th post, so raise a glass and toast, “Sláinte!”

What are your plans? Lots of Guinness and corned beef & cabbage? Let us know what you do!

So what’s changed? In addition to brewers outside Iowa being able to more easily sell their high-gravity beers in the state, it has become much easier for the breweries in Iowa to brew these stronger beers, such as Double IPA‘s and the majority of Belgian-style beers. This has allowed Iowa breweries to compete with those in other states, and will give Iowa breweries the chance to make almost any beer style they want without the state coming down on them for having stronger beers.

Although this isn’t an exhaustive list, here are several of the beers in the higher-proof category that came out in the past year (this doesn’t include all the beers local breweries and brewpubs created, such as Third Base Brewery and Rock Bottom Brewing):